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Tue, 21 Jul 2015 15:02:17 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.5NASCAR Announces 2015 Schedulehttp://lead-lap.com/2014/08/26/nascar-announces-2015-schedule/
http://lead-lap.com/2014/08/26/nascar-announces-2015-schedule/#respondTue, 26 Aug 2014 15:23:48 +0000http://lead-lap.com/?p=11553NASCAR announced today its national series schedules for the 2015 season, featuring date enhancements to races at some of its most storied tracks along with a pair of long-term broadcast partners that will provide the exciting action to the sport’s fans.

“The 2015 NASCAR national series schedules promise to provide our fans with the compelling competition and storylines they so richly deserve,” said Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “These enhancements to our race dates, particularly in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, will be of benefit to our fans and other stakeholders in our industry. From the start of the season at Speedweeks at Daytona culminated by our championship finales at Homestead-Miami, we’re looking forward to the great racing that will be delivered through our outstanding television network broadcast partners FOX, FOX Sports 1, NBC and NBCSN.”

Key date changes featuring Darlington Raceway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway, some of NASCAR’s most tradition-laden tracks, highlight the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. Following the 57th running of the Daytona 500 Feb. 22 on FOX, Atlanta Motor Speedway will host the season’s second race weekend (March 1), while Darlington returns to its traditional Labor Day weekend date (Sept. 6). The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to Atlanta for the first time since 2012 as part of a unique doubleheader on Feb. 28 with the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Additionally, Daytona’s always-anticipated July race weekend takes on a different look as the Sunday, July 5 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race marks the return of broadcast partner NBC.

A big “west-coast swing” during the schedule’s early stages spotlights markets where NASCAR’s fan base is growing and sponsor opportunities are on the rise. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series run on three consecutive weekends, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 7-8, Phoenix International Raceway on March 14-15 and Auto Club Speedway on March 21-22.

Bristol’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series spring date moves deeper into the calendar from mid-March to April 19. Dates for the spring races at Phoenix and Texas Motor Speedway (April 11) step back one week from their 2014 schedule slots.

From the season-opening weekend at Daytona through June’s events, FOX and FOX Sports 1 will combine to serve as the broadcast home of all races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Starting in July at Daytona through the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, including each series’ championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, NBC and NBCSN will carry the second-half action for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series. The entire 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule will be broadcast exclusively on FOX and FOX Sports 1. On radio, programming surrounding the 2015 NASCAR season along with the exciting national series race calls can be heard on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Motor Racing Network (MRN) and the Performance Racing Network (PRN). The Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s radio network will carry the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series events at IMS.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will feature 36 events including two standout non-points races – the Sprint Unlimited on Feb. 14 at Daytona and the 31st annual NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 16. Soon to have a new entitlement partner, the NASCAR Nationwide Series once again contests 33 races, while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series increases to 23 events next season with the addition of the Atlanta date.

When running concurrently during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series companion weekends, the date changes are also reflected on the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedules. There are nine companion weekends on the 2015 schedule that feature all three national series along with 18 combination weekends between the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series and seven dual events where the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series run together.

There are six “stand-alones” on next year’s NASCAR Nationwide Series calendar, starting May 17 at Iowa Speedway. Included among those are two road-course races, at Mid-Ohio on Aug. 15 and Road America on Aug. 29. The later Road America date takes the place of the former Atlanta date. There are seven NASCAR Camping World Truck Series stand-alone races and two Wednesday appearances – on the dirt at Eldora Speedway on July 22 and at Bristol on Aug. 19. Iowa hosts the trucks three weeks earlier in 2015, on June 19. And the series again runs internationally on Aug. 30 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario.

2015 Sprint Cup Schedule

Feb 14

Daytona International Speedway (Sprint Unlimited)

Feb 15

Daytona International Speedway (Daytona 500 Qualifying)

Feb 19

Daytona International Speedway (Duels)

Feb 22

Daytona 500

Mar 1

Atlanta Motor Speedway

Mar 8

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Mar 15

Phoenix International Raceway

Mar 22

Auto Club Speedway

Mar 29

Martinsville Speedway

Apr 11

Texas Motor Speedway

Apr 19

Bristol Motor Speedway

Apr 25

Richmond International Raceway

May 3

Talladega Superspeedway

May 9

Kansas Speedway

May 16

Charlotte Motor Speedway (All-Star Race)

May 24

Charlotte Motor Speedway

May 31

Dover International Raceway

Jun 7

Pocono Raceway

Jun 14

Michigan International Raceway

Jun 28

Sonoma Raceway

Jul 5

Daytona International Speedway

Jul 11

Kentucky Speedway

Jul 19

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Jul 26

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Aug 2

Pocono Raceway

Aug 9

Watkins Glen International

Aug 16

Michigan International Raceway

Aug 22

Bristol Motor Speedway

Sep 6

Darlington Raceway

Sep 12

Richmond International Raceway

Sep 20

Chicagoland Speedway

Sep 27

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Oct 4

Dover International Raceway

Oct 10

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Oct 18

Kansas Speedway

Oct 25

Talladega Superspeedway

Nov 1

Martinsville Speedway

Nov 8

Texas Motor Speedway

Nov 15

Phoenix International Raceway

Nov 22

Homestead-Miami Speedway

2015 Nationwide Series Schedule

Feb 21

Daytona International Speedway

Feb 28

Atlanta Motor Speedway

Mar 7

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Mar 14

Phoenix International Raceway

Mar 21

Auto Club Speedway

Apr 10

Texas Motor Speedway

Apr 18

Bristol Motor Speedway

Apr 24

Richmond International Raceway

May 2

Talladega Superspeedway

May 17

Iowa Speedway

May 23

Charlotte Motor Speedway

May 30

Dover International Raceway

Jun 13

Michigan International Raceway

Jun 20

Chicagoland Speedway

Jul 4

Daytona International Speedway

Jul 10

Kentucky Speedway

Jul 18

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Jul 25

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Aug 1

Iowa Speedway

Aug 8

Watkins Glen International

Aug 15

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Aug 21

Bristol Motor Speedway

Aug 29

Road America

Sep 5

Darlington Raceway

Sep 11

Richmond International Raceway

Sep 19

Chicagoland Speedway

Sep 26

Kentucky Speedway

Oct 3

Dover International Raceway

Oct 10

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Oct 17

Kansas Speedway

Nov 7

Texas Motor Speedway

Nov 14

Phoenix International Raceway

Nov 21

Homestead-Miami Speedway

2015 Camping World Truck Series Schedule

Feb 20

Daytona International Speedway

Feb 28

Atlanta Motor Speedway

Mar 28

Martinsville Speedway

May 8

Kansas Speedway

May 15

Charlotte Motor Speedway

May 29

Dover International Speedway

Jun 5

Texas Motor Speedway

Jun 13

Gateway Motorsports Park

Jun 19

Iowa Speedway

Jul 9

Kentucky Speedway

Jul 22

Eldora Speedway

Aug 1

Pocono Raceway

Aug 15

Michigan International Speedway

Aug 19

Bristol Motor Speedway

Aug 30

Canadian Tire Motorsports Park

Sep 18

Chicagoland Speedway

Sep 26

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Oct 3

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Oct 24

Talladega Superspeedway

Oct 31

Martinsville Speedway

Nov 6

Texas Motor Speedway

Nov 13

Phoenix International Raceway

Nov 20

Homestead-Miami Speedway

]]>http://lead-lap.com/2014/08/26/nascar-announces-2015-schedule/feed/0Gaughan Wins At Road Americahttp://lead-lap.com/2014/06/23/gaughan-wins-at-road-america/
http://lead-lap.com/2014/06/23/gaughan-wins-at-road-america/#respondMon, 23 Jun 2014 04:19:49 +0000http://lead-lap.com/?p=11316Brendan Gaughan survived two early off-track excursions and a race in which much of the second half was contested in rain as cars rode on wet weather tires to win Saturday’s Gardner Denver 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Road America.

It was the third time in NASCAR history – all on road courses and all on the NNS circuit – that a race has been run in rain. The other two were in Montreal in 2008 and 2010, also on a road course (Circuit Gilles Villeneuve).

Racing in the rain ignited something in Gaughan that helped overcome and forget his early misfortune and go on to earn his first career win on the Nationwide circuit in 98 starts (he also has eight career wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series).

“I love racing in the rain, it’s fun,” said Gaughan, who was in the 2010 Montreal race, and has driven in rain several other times in other series. “And when you’re good at it, it makes it even more fun.

“I haven’t smelled blood in a long time, that’s something I’ve been lacking lately, that killer attitude. When it started to rain, even without the wiper blade (was broken), I started to smell blood and said, ‘I’m coming.’

“It’s fun to watch guys who haven’t done it in the rain. They don’t understand the rain line, and fortunately for me, I did.”

Gaughan passed Chase Elliott for the lead on Lap 51 and held on for the two remaining laps to win.

Gaughan beat runner-up Alex Tagliani by .820 seconds in a green-white-checkered finish that took the race to 53 laps, three more than the scheduled 50. It appeared it would be Tagliani’s race to win, as he was leading in the closing laps when he ran out of fuel on lap 49.

Just seconds before, a caution flag was thrown when Justin Marks also ran out of fuel. Just past the pit entrance when his car stopped, Tagliani was able to roll his car down the downward sloping frontstretch, his crew pushed him into his pit stall, he took on fuel and switched from rain tires back to slicks and proceeded to roar through the field, restarting 23rd and ending up second three extra laps later.

Such a tough defeat might be hard for some drivers to swallow, but Tagliani took the loss in stride.

“It was pretty intense,” Tagliani said. “The wet was tricky, but obviously we were good. Maybe I threw a bad spell on myself because I said it was impossible that I was going to win this race, like something’s going to happen, and then on the white flag, something happened (ran out of gas).

“It’s what it is. It’s not in the cards. You have to be quick, you have to have a good car and it has to be in the cards, and if it’s not, you just have to take whatever comes to you.”

Tagliani came into the race hoping to be the fourth driver to win from the pole in the last five NNS races at Road America, but came up one spot short.

The race was put under caution on Lap 25 and NASCAR mandated all cars switch to wet weather tires two laps later. They remained on rain tires until the final four laps, when teams had the option to switch back to slicks after Marks brought out the caution.

Of note about Cassill: Not only did he compete in Saturday’s race, he hopped a plane afterward to the west coast to be in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Sonoma Raceway.

NOTES: Regan Smith, who finished 13th, retained his lead in the NNS points standings. Elliott Sadler (finished ninth) is second in the points, 10 points behind Smith, while Chase Elliott remains in third place (11 points back). The only drivers to make upward movement in the points in the top-10 were Brian Scott (sixth to fifth) and Cassill (11th to 10th).

]]>http://lead-lap.com/2014/06/23/gaughan-wins-at-road-america/feed/0Road Course Weekend: Tempers, Excitementhttp://lead-lap.com/2011/06/27/road-course-weekend-tempers-excitement/
http://lead-lap.com/2011/06/27/road-course-weekend-tempers-excitement/#respondMon, 27 Jun 2011 14:01:35 +0000http://lead-lap.com/?p=6131Kurt Busch has been doing everything in his power to get to victory lane. He’s had three consecutive poles at Michigan, Pocono, and Kansas, but hasn’t had the finishes to go with them.

Busch finally got the win he has been looking for in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway. He led 76 of 110 laps and earned his first road course win.

Calamity Corner

It all started on lap 37 when Tony Stewart pushed Vickers’ rear fender, sending him into a tire barrier. After many pit stops Vickers got his car repaired and managed to stay on the lead lap. Brian isn’t one to forget, and he let Stewart know just how upset he was on lap 88. Going into Turn 11 running fifth and sixth, Vickers got into the rear fender of Stewart and sent him spinning into a tire barrier. The No. 14 Stewart Haas Racing Chevy then got stuck on the tire barrier, forcing NASCAR to extend the caution to get his car down.

Stewart intentionally wrecked Vickers because he claimed that Vickers was blocking him. Vickers, however, said Stewart was “the least of his worries” at that time. Vickers said he was moving over to avoid Kyle Busch, who was coming back on the track after a short excursion off of it.

When asked about being spun by Vickers, Stewart said he knew he “had it coming,” since he intentionally wrecked Vickers earlier in the race. I think both the drivers agreed to disagree and will let this blow over.

Unfortunately for innocent by-standers like Dale Earnhardt Jr, this will not blow over so easily. Earnhardt Jr was involved in the pile up on lap 37 in Turn 11 and had damage to the hood of his car, along with the front grill. This ultimately led to a hole in the radiator and caused the engine to blow up. Earnhardt finished 41st and fell from third in the standings to seventh, thanks to his misfortune. He is now 65 points behind leader Carl Edwards.

Where’d He Come From?

Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards has been doing double duty this year with the Nationwide series. Normally he would have flown to Wisconsin, missing Cup practice, to participate in the Road America Nationwide race. This weekend, he decided to have Billy Johnson fill in for him at Road America so he could focus on his Cup ride at Sonoma because he felt that they were behind on speed and handling when they arrived for the race weekend.

The focus and extra practice seemed to work. Despite being virtually nonexistent all day, Carl Edwards came home third, and held his points lead. He is 25 points ahead of Kevin Harvick.

Confusion At Road America

Turner Motorsports driver Justin Allgair was leading the race as a caution came out with one lap to go. Allgaier was cutting it short on fuel and ran out of gas trying to make it back to the checkered flag. Teammate Reed Sorenson was running second and got passed by driver Ron Fellows under the caution. Fellows did not maintain caution speed and passed Sorenson after the caution came out, which is against NASCAR rules. NASCAR reviewed the video and declared Sorenson the winner. Fellows made it clear he did not agree with NASCAR’s decision.

I’m all about drivers coming from other racing series to run for NASCAR because it brings publicity to the sport. But, drivers from other racing series should make sure they know the rules. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened, and I’m sure it will happen again.

NASCAR did not “give” the win to Reed Sorenson. He earned it from obeying the NASCAR rule-book and lowering his speed when the yellow flag was thrown. This is Sorenson’s first win since 2007 and his fourth career win in the Nationwide series.

Road course racing never fails to give us tempers and excitement. We’ll be racing under the lights at Daytona International Speedway next weekend. Who do you guys think will prevail?